Interior walls of homes and buildings are often constructed using gypsum wallboard panels (sometimes referred to as drywall). When cavities, recesses, holes, etc., are present (due to imperfections or damage), it is common to use a repair compound, and in particular a spackling compound, to fill such cavities. Conventional spackling compounds often include one or more inorganic fillers, one or more polymeric resin binders, and various thickeners and other additives. Lightweight spackling compounds have been developed that often contain, among other inorganic fillers, relatively low density fillers such as glass bubbles, hollow silica, or expanded perlite. After the spackling compound is applied to a wall, the water evaporates over a period of time resulting in the formation of a dried, hardened material that can be sanded, painted, etc.
Another, similar type of repair compound is known as a joint compound typically used to conceal the joint between adjacent wallboards. While spackling compounds and joint compounds do many of the same things and are both smeared onto walls to hide flaws, spackling compounds are generally lighter, dry more quickly, sand more easily, and are more expensive than joint compounds. For simplicity, the term “repair compound” as used throughout the present disclosure is inclusive of spackling compounds and joint compounds.
Spackling compounds are known in the art. U.S. Pat. No. 6,531,528 (Kurp), for example, discloses a ready-to-use patch repair product that includes a color change indicator. After the product has dried, the color changes to signal that, if desired, the user can perform other operations such as painting, sanding, etc., on the surface. U.S. Pat. No. 7,790,796 (Foster et al.) discloses a spackling compound that it easy to apply smoothly, can be applied in thicker layers than known spackling compounds without cracking upon drying, and can be modified after drying without pitting, flaking, or crumbling, particularly at the edges of the applied spackling patch. U.S. Patent Publication No. 2013/019043 (Gozum et al.) discloses a self-priming spackling compound.